African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) will not stop politicians from politicking in their churches, archbishops Samson Muthuri and Fredrick Wang’ombe have declared.
Over the weekend, the Catholic Church Bishops threatened to ban politicians from politicking while on pulpits.
In recent weeks, politicians from across the political divide have been seen attacking one another while in church.
“The church (AIPCA) is not scared of politics because it was established through a political platform. We always support the government of the day,” said Muthuri in Muthua-ini Tetu, Nyeri County.
“If they are denied a platform, let them come to AIPCA; we will provide it,” said Bernard Mwangi, who is the church’s assistant secretary.
Deputy President William Ruto has come under fire for using the church to pass his political messages. He's often accused of also donating huge amounts of money to various churches without disclosing the source.
On Monday, Anglican Church of Kenya also waded in the debate on politics and church, with Mt Kenya Bishops also insisting that the church will continue taking money from politicians.
“When leaders come to church and contribute money with clean hearts, we can’t decline because we are not in a position to know if the money is gotten from corruption and we are not there to rebuke and label people as corrupt because that is the obligation of the courts," said Timothy Gichere of ACK.
ODM leader Raila Odinga has been vocal about church and politics, accusing colleague politicians of donating huge sums of money to the church. At Kisumu over the weekend, Raila asked the clergy to reject money which cannot be accounted for.